Learning to Love
by O.G. Knights
Summary: The Avengers are staying in Stark Tower for the time being and everything is...normal. Well, it is until Bruce get's a call from his ex-fiance with some interesting news. How will Bruce and the others cope with taking care of a six-year-old girl?
1. Chapter 1

**I do not own any of the Avengers. I simply own the two characters that I introduce…**

**Author's Note: **I know this kind of goes against his story, but I thought it would be funny if Bruce and the others had to take care of a…child. :)

I'm not the best writer, but I'm working at it. When reviewing, I will take constructive criticism, so please do review with it. Lastly, I hope you like this! It's not much, and it's really just a bit of practice.

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**Chapter I**

Life at Stark Tower was… How should it be described? Perhaps, hectic is the correct term. Of course, Thor spent his days still adjusting to life on Earth and unfortunately breaking many things of Tony's. Speaking of the devil, Tony was being his egotistic, arrogant, usual self while Steve always objected to his attitude. Bruce, Clint, and Tony were always trying to teach Steve to understand the technology of today, but he couldn't get out of his past life. Natasha spent most of her time talking to Pepper. And why wouldn't she? She and Pepper were the only females in the building. Bruce liked to be alone most of the time, in the lab Tony had given him. The others would come and check on him, but, as usual, he was quiet as ever.

On the current day, it was early in the morning (about seven thirty) and Bruce leaned against the kitchen counter with a cup of coffee in his hands. He liked the quiet of the morning, no one bothering him and it was simply…quiet (if you tone out Thor's snoring from his bedroom). Okay, well it _was_ quiet, until Tony decided to make and appearance in Bruce's formerly peaceful moment.

Tony walked into the kitchen and patted Bruce's shoulder, then walking past him to get himself a cup of coffee. "Hey, big guy," he said.

He just nodded. "Morning, Tony."

Tony looked at him, a confused and interested gleam in his eye. He just raised his eyebrows and set the coffee pot down, taking a sip of his coffee. "Get enough sleep?"

And, as always, Bruce gave a simple, predictable answer of, "Yes."

"What do you plan to do today?" Tony decided to continue this little interrogation.

Bruce shrugged and Tony got a bit fed up. "Okay, you're freaking me out. What's with the…quietness?"

He scoffed a bit and turned to Tony. "I'm tired. Is that a crime?"

"It is here," Tony said, a joking tone lacing his voice. He set his coffee cup down and raised an eyebrow. "Woman problems?"

Now, Bruce was genuinely annoyed. "That's the first thing you come up with?" He had an almost offended expression on his face.

Tony shrugged and smirked innocently. "I'm me. What do you expect?"

"Not much…" Bruce mumbled as he lifted the cup to his mouth.

More footsteps made them both turn. "Morning boys," the red-haired woman yawned. Instead of heading for coffee, she just got a glass from the cupboard and poured herself a glass of water. She sat down at the kitchen table, looking comfortable in her sweat pants and tank top.

"Good morning…_Natalie_," Tony stressed each sound in 'Natalie' and Natasha just looked over with a bored look on her face. "Just…don't, Tony."

He put his hands up in a defensive position. "Not my fault," he argued.

Clint was the next one to enter the scene. He didn't say anything, because he seemed to be half asleep at the moment. His eyelids drooped and he stretched his jaw in a large yawn.

"Good morning, sleepy-head!" Natasha teased in a sing-songy voice.

He raised his eyebrows for a moment and yawned. Tony quickly got him a cup of coffee. "Here- caffeine."

Clint took the cup eagerly and took a sip, instantly gaining more energy. "Thor's coming," was the first thing he said.

Tony looked around at the small group. "Why didn't we baby-proof the kitchen, or anywhere for that matter?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and put her hands on her hips. "He's a grown man, Tony."

"From a different planet, sure," he shot back.

Thor's thunderous voice was heard from the hallway and they all jumped a bit at the sound. "Fine morning! Isn't it, my friends?"

"Oh, yeah," Clint agreed flatly. His voice was referring to the fact that he'd been up most of the night listening to music and… Well, they weren't sure what else he was doing. They just knew that he kept them up most the night; how Thor or Steve slept was a complete mystery.

"Maybe you shouldn't have been listening to Metallica until three in the morning," Natasha snapped at him, brushing back her "bed-head" hair.

"Maybe those beers weren't a good idea," Tony muttered to himself.

"What was that?" she asked him.

Tony replied quickly, "Nothing!"

She narrowed her eyes at him suspiciously.

Thor walked over and put a hand on Clint's shoulder. "You seem tired, my friend."

"Tired isn't even the beginning," he murmured. He leaned over the counter, his head resting on his hand.

"Coffee, Thor?" Tony asked, knowing how much the demi-god loved the drink.

"Of course! What else?" Thor rushed over to the coffee pot and Tony got him a cup.

"Drink up, buddy." He patted Thor's back and Thor sat down across from Natasha.

Bruce looked around the group and set his coffee down. "Well, I'm gonna…go."

Clint leaned over and muttered something to Tony that Bruce didn't catch and Tony smirked his signature smirk.

Just as Bruce was walking out, Steve walked in with messy hair and dark bags under his eyes. He ran a hand through his hair and collapsed in a chair at the kitchen table. He looked over at Clint with daggers.

Clint's eyes widened and he set his coffee down, tempted to leave the kitchen in fear of getting hurt.

"Morning, Steve," Natasha said, casting a glance his way.

"Good morning, Captain Rogers!" Thor boomed.

Steve winced at the volume in Thor's voice. "It would be if Clint hadn't kept me up. Luckily I fell asleep around midnight."

Natasha laughed. "Ha! At least you got sleep."

Tony snorted at Natasha's comment. "I don't know about you, but I slept like a baby."

"That's because you _are _a child," she snapped at him.

He slapped his hand over his heart dramatically. "Natasha… That hurt," he said. He tapped his fingers over his heart. "Right here."

"Good," she mumbled flatly.

Bruce scoffed quietly at them and left the room completely, not even regretting his decision to leave.

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Bruce sighed a bit as he heard his phone ring and he reluctantly took it out of his pocket. He looked at the caller ID, but it read, 'Unknown Contact'. He raised his eyebrows and answered it, "Hello?"

"Bruce?" was the quick response on the other side of the line. The voice was hauntingly familiar to Bruce and his heart skipped a beat.

"Jennifer?" he said back, his voice a bit shaky.

"Thank god…" the woman (apparently Jennifer) said. "Bruce, I need to see you."

"I- what?" Did he hear right? She wanted to see him?

"I need to see you," she repeated. "I'm-" she stopped and seemed to suck in air as if she felt pain. "I'm at the hospital."

His expression was blank. "The hospital?"

She sighed now. "Yes," she said. "Please, Bruce."

Bruce hesitated, but finally worked up the nerve to say, "I'll be there soon."

She sighed in relief and said, "Oh, god, thank you Bruce. Thank you."

"Yeah…" he said, and then he hung up. He set the phone down on the table top lightly, staring off into nothing. He thought today would just be another crazy, hectic day, but he was completely wrong.

Bruce made his way back upstairs regrettably. When he got to the living room, Tony, Clint and Steve were watching sports. Thor was sitting down, studying the television closely trying to figure out why men in padding were running into each other and fighting for a ball. Then he began to go on and on about how it reminded him of something in Asgard.

Tony turned around and saw Bruce, and exaggerated a gasp. "Is hibernation over already?" he asked, as if to be in shock.

Bruce shook his head. "Unfortunately, no," he said. "But I'm going out."

"Why?" Tony questioned.

"Is that any of your business?" Bruce decided to answer a question, with a question.

"You're staying in my house, so, yes, I think it is," Tony had a victorious tone in his voice.

"I will tell you when I get back." Bruce said in annoyance. He grabbed his jacket.

"Fine, fine, fine…" Tony muttered.

"See you later, Bruce," Clint said, not even taking his eyes off the TV.

He didn't even respond, but Bruce just walked out the door, wanting to get to the hospital and come back.

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"I'm looking for Jennifer Bates?" Bruce told the woman at the front desk. She directed him towards her room and he nodded. "Um, thank you."

He wasn't in any rush to see this woman (he never was), but, then again, he was curious why she was in the hospital and why she "needed" to see him.

He followed the room numbers until he came to Jennifer's and he took a breath, opening the door. He stepped in and closed it behind him, looking at the woman in the hospital bed. She had curly, caramel-colored hair and her face was paler than Bruce remembered.

She gave a weak smile at the sight of him. "Hi, Bruce…" she said.

He raised a hand as a sign of greeting, and then put it in his pocket. "Jen."

"It's…good to see you." It was like she had to force herself to say those words. She ran a shaky hand through her hair.

He moved closer towards her. "What'd you need to see me for?"

"Do you remember that day…six years ago?" Jennifer asked him.

The memory played through his brain, every word, picture, and movement of that specific day sharp as a tack. "Yeah…"

With a movement of her head, she motioned towards the other side of the room. Bruce turned around and saw a girl, maybe five or six years old, sitting in a chair with her legs pulled up and her knees in the air. She had a book resting against her legs and her eyes scanned the page.

Bruce's gaze whipped back to Jennifer. "That's-"

"Meredith," she said, cutting him off. "We call her Maria."

He remembered the first time he'd seen that little girl: she hadn't even been a week old and then he cut off communication from Jennifer completely. Until today. "Do you… Do you have a point?"

Jennifer sighed, looking Bruce in the eyes firmly. "I need you to take care of her."

"I-I can't," he spluttered. "I'm…busy."

"Busy doing what?" she snapped. "All of New York knows you and the other "avengers" are hiding out in that building. What could you possibly be doing?"

Yeah, she was still the same Jennifer… "That's…not your business," he muttered. "But don't you have friends or family that could take care of her?"

"Bruce, you know I'm an only child and that my parents are dead," she said, her voice losing its sharp edge. "And I don't have "friends", exactly. Coworkers, but they won't house my- our daughter."

"No."

"Yes."

"I won't."

"Yes you will."

"No, I won't!"

"Bruce."

"Fine!" Bruce finally gave in and accepted. He looked back at Meredith and it seemed as if she hadn't moved at all. "Fine… I'll do it… For her- not for you." His brown eyes looked to Jennifer now.

"It won't be hard," Jennifer insisted. "She's very refined- a lot like you actually. She loves to read and draw. But she's very curious, so you might have to keep an eye on her sometimes."

"Alright, alright," he mumbled.

She nodded. "You'd better go see her then…" She leaned back in her bed with a sharp breath in pain, but soon settled.

He swallowed and rubbed the back of his neck, walking over to the little girl. He squatted down to get to her level. "Hi…Meredith," was his timid greeting.

The little girl lowered her book and her legs so she could look the man in the face. "Hello…" she said quietly.

"Do you know who I am?" he asked slowly.

She gave a meek nod. "You're my Papa."

Bruce couldn't help but smile a bit. She had big, brown eyes that just… He couldn't even describe it. "That's right," he said. "You're going to stay with me while Mommy's here with the doctor. Is that okay?"

Meredith nodded again, a small smile coming upon her face. And, without warning, she'd stepped off the chair and wrapped her arms around her father's neck. Bruce put his arms around her, awkwardly, not exactly used to this. This would be one hell of a story to tell Tony and the others…

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**Author's Note: **So? What do you think? Is it okay? Not okay? Please review and tell me what I need to work on, or tell me what you like. :) It's greatly appreciated.

If I get enough reviews or favorites on this chapter, I will continue. If not, then I probably won't.


	2. Chapter 2

**Author's Note: **I opened up my e-mail the other morning and saw I had 21 messages (but two of them were from Barnes & Noble). But I saw 18 messages all about my first chapter. Everyone who reviewed, favorited or added this to their watch list, thank you. I'm so glad you all liked the first chapter, because I was eager to start the second! :)

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**Chapter II**

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa!" Tony said, waving his hands a bit. "Stop." He looked Bruce straight in the face with a slightly confused expression. "So your ex just randomly calls you and tells you she's at the hospital and then she dumps you with a kid?" He turned around saw Meredith looking up at Clint, talking to him as he took his attention away from football. Tony turned back around and looked at Bruce. "Who does that?"

He sighed. "Look," he started. "She had nowhere else to go. It won't be that long."

"Nowhere else to go?" Tony repeated. He snorted and folded his arms. "Fine, but you are in charge of her." He wasn't happy, obviously…

"I know," he said through gritted teeth.

Natasha walked out into the living room. "Hey, Clint-" But she stopped and Clint took his attention away from the little girl to look at his friend. "Yeah?"

"Who's that?" Natasha demanded, putting her hands on her hips.

Bruce walked over, hands in his pockets. "That would be my…daughter." He nodded a bit.

She looked at him with an awe-struck expression. "Your daughter?" She knitted her eyebrows. "I didn't know you had a daughter."

Bruce chuckled. "My ex called and told me I had to take care of her."

"Must be a great day for you," she said.

"Oh, yeah," Bruce replied.

Clint looked back down at Meredith and she whispered something in his ear. He smiled and looked up at Bruce, saying, "She's adorable, man."

Natasha looked surprised. "Agent Clint Barton's weakness is…children." She laughed a bit.

Clint rolled his eyes and said, "Okay, Meredith. Go back to your dad."

The little girl smiled one more time and ran back over to Bruce.

She grabbed her father's hand, dragging it out of his pocket and keeping a tight grip on it with her small fingers. In return, Bruce looked down at her, slightly surprised but he still smiled.

She grinned up at him. "Clint's nice…" she said meekly.

Everyone saw Clint smile in the background, but when Natasha gave him a look, he took the smile off his face and said, "What?"

Natasha rolled her eyes and smirked, shaking her head. "Nothing."

Tony sighed angrily, casting a glance toward Bruce and Meredith.

Natasha noticed Tony's cruel gaze and squatted down to Meredith's level. "Hey, Meredith," she said sweetly. "I'm Natasha. Can I tell you a secret?" She smiled.

The little girl smiled brightly and ran over to Natasha. "Hello, Natasha," she said.

The red-head nodded and then said, "Okay. Here's the secret." She put her hand up next to Meredith's ear and leaned over, whispering something in the six-year-old's ear.

She nodded and smiled, then looked at Natasha and the woman smiled again. She got back on her feet and Meredith ran over to Tony, looking up at him with an innocent smile.

Tony looked down at her with a _go-the-hell-away _expression.

Then, unexpectedly, Meredith attached herself onto Tony's leg, hugging him. He, in return, sighed and put a hand on his forehead, shielding his eyes from the others. "Banner," he groaned.

Meredith giggled and held on. Bruce didn't even make a move to stop her. "Aw! Tony, she likes you!" he teased.

Tony scowled at Bruce, just standing there now. _You are so very screwed, Bruce… _he thought angrily. _I'm going to kill you._

She didn't let go and kept on smiling. Natasha watched and laughed, then look her phone out. "The internet better be ready for this," she said mischievously, pulling up the camera on her phone.

His eyes widened and his lips parted a bit in shock and surprise. "Natasha, don't!" he said firmly.

She smirked and cocked an eyebrow. "Why shouldn't I?"

He searched his brain for one excuse for her not to do this to him, but he couldn't find anything. "Because… Because…" He groaned finally and Natasha snapped a picture, looking at it. She then quickly sent it to Steve, wanting to get him out here.

Tony's jaw dropped this time and he was in awe. "Cra-"

Clint ran over and put a hand over the billionaire's mouth. He just pointed a figure down to Meredith, who looked up.

Tony shoved Clint's hand away. "So I can't cuss either? Sh-"

Clint slapped his hand over Tony's mouth again. "Don't."

He smacked the archer's hand away now, giving him an icy glare. Finally, Bruce had had enough entertainment for today. "Okay, Meredith," he said with a smile. "Come here."

Meredith let go of Tony's leg and he stepped away from Bruce and the young girl. "Keep her away from me please. Children aren't my expertise."

"What?" Natasha was acting surprised. "But… But I thought you _were _a child? How could they not be your expertise?" She made a fake, pouty face.

He scowled at her. "Classy, Romanoff," he said. And on that note, he stomped off to his bedroom.

"Sorry Tony!" they all heard Steve's voice from the hallway and he rushed out, looking at his phone.

"You found the picture?" Clint asked in surprise. "By _yourself_?"

"Yeah," Steve replied, not taking his eyes off the device.

"Steve needs a medal for that!" Clint joked with a grin.

"What's with this picture, Natasha?" the soldier asked, holding his phone up. The spy just smirked and motioned towards Bruce and Meredith in reply.

His eyes switched over to Bruce, and then they shifted down to look at Meredith. "Who's that?" he asked.

"Bruce's kid," Clint answered, his hands in his pockets. He took one out and ran it through his hair.

"You have a daughter?" Steve said in disbelief (even though he was looking straight at Meredith).

Natasha shrugged. "Apparently he does."

Bruce nodded. "Yeah," he said. "Her mom's in the hospital."

"Wait," Steve said. "You're not married. Are you?"

"I'm not," Bruce answered. "Jennifer and I almost got married but, um… Things got in the way…"

Steve nodded stiffly. "I understand. How long will she be staying?"

"I'm not exactly sure," Bruce said honestly. "Her mother never said how long she'd be in the hospital."

Meredith was clutching onto her father's pant leg and looking around at all the adults. She tugged on Bruce's pant leg and looked up at him.

He looked down and knelt down, having her whisper something in his ear. "Who's the big, tall man?" she whispered.

Bruce smiled and it was probably the most honest smile he'd ever given. He looked at her and said, "Go meet him." He got onto his feet and looked at her.

Meredith timidly started to walk over to Steve, clasping her hands together behind her back. She looked up at him, never seeing anyone as tall as him. "Hi," she said.

Steve couldn't help but smile. "Hi."

"I'm Meredith," she said, giving him a wave.

"I'm Steve," the soldier said, keeping the smile.

The little girl scurried back over to Bruce and grabbed his pant leg. He chuckled, picking her up and she hid her face in his neck. "She's shy."

"She's a duplicate of you," Natasha said, raising her eyebrows.

"Should I take that to offense?"

"No."

"Seems like I should."

"Well, you shouldn't."

"Alright," Bruce muttered. "Does Tony have a spare room?"

"Yeah," Clint said. "It's down the hall next to Thor's room."

Bruce nodded and soon realized that Meredith had fallen asleep in his arms, her head resting on his shoulder. He walked down the hall towards the spare room when Thor came out of his room. "Ah! Dr. Banner!" he said.

"Thor, can you be quiet?" Bruce asked. He shifted Meredith in his arms.

"Who's this?" Thor motioned to Meredith, finally lowering the volume in his voice.

"I'll explain later," was Bruce's genius response. He put his hand on the doorknob of the extra room and walked inside, setting the sleeping Meredith down on the bed. He pulled some blankets over her, and then silently walked out. He closed the door behind him with a faint _click _sound of the lock. He walked back out to the living room to find everyone else (but Tony) talking indistinctly. They all stopped and looked at Bruce as he walked by. He stopped and looked at them, "What?"

Steve shrugged and Thor mumbled something to Clint. Natasha was the one, as usual, to speak up, "We decided we'd help you take care of her."

He seemed surprised. "Oh…" he muttered. "Thanks." He put his hands in his pockets.

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Bruce shifted in bed as he heard the creak of his bedroom door. A bit of light shone through, but he kept his eyes closed, trying to get as much sleep as he could. It had been hard for him to sleep because of…the "other guy". There had been one instance where he'd nearly Hulked out while having a nightmare.

He heard the door close with a soft _click _and then his bed moved. All of a sudden, there was something pressed against his back. He sighed and opened his eyes, craning his neck to look over. The only thing he saw was a small figure curled up next to him and obviously it was Meredith. He smiled and turned around, placing a gentle kiss on her head, then turning back and closing his eyes to get more sleep. Small hands grabbed the back of his t-shirt, keeping a tight grip on it and he smiled again.

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**Author's Note: **There's Chapter Two! Not as long, but I think it's a bit better than the first chapter. Review and tell me your favorite part so far. I love to see your feedback because it motivates me to write more. :)


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